Prophet Muhammad PART 5

'Have I explained it well? Is it perfectly clear?' Everyone answered, 'Yes.' For these were the people who would have to pass on the Prophet's message and instructions to those who were unable to be present that day and to future generations. The Prophet (pbuh) said, 'I have left you two things. If you hold on to them you will be saved. They are Allah's Book and the words of your Prophet.' He then asked, 'Have I not conveyed the message?' The multitude shouted out, 'By Allah, yes!' The Prophet (pbuh) ended, '0 Allah! Bear witness to that.'
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
". This day those who disbelieve are in despair of (ever harming) your religion; so do not fear them, but fear Me! This day I have perfected your religion, for you, and I have completed My favor unto you, and have chosen for you as a religion AL-ISLAM". (Koran v.3) Many Muslims started to shed tears, knowing that if the Prophet (pbuh) had completed his message, his life must be near its end.
After spending the rest of the day of 'Arafah in prayer and contemplation, the Muslims began to complete the pilgrimage by returning to Mecca with the talbiyah prayer still on their lips. The first night of the return journey was spent at Muzdalifah. Here they gathered pebbles, which they carried with them the next day to Mina. There they stood before a huge rock and stoned it in remembrance of Abraham's meeting with the Devil in that very place. When Abraham received the order from Allah to sacrifice his son Ishmael as a test of his faith, the Devil had tried to convince him not to do it. He came to Abraham at Mina, as he was on his way to carry out Allah's command, but Abraham took some stones and hurled them at the Devil to drive him away since the casting of stones at Mina on the Prophet's 'Farewell Pilgrimage', this has become another ritual which Muslims perform on the annual pilgrimage to remind them that they, too, must continue to drive the Devil away when he tries to prevent them from being obedient to Allah.
After throwing the stones, the pilgrims sacrificed sheep and camels and gave the meat to the poor. In this way the great faith of Abraham was remembered, for when he had been ready to sacrifice Ishmael, Allah had sent a sheep in his place. The Muslims then completed the pilgrimage by again circling the Ka'bah seven times. They then cut their hair and nails and changed out of their white clothes to show they had returned to their daily lives. Before returning to Medinah, the Muslims spent three nights in the valley at Medinah where the final preparations were made for the journey home.
As for the Prophet (pbuh), he made one final visit before leaving Mecca. This was to the grave of his devoted wife, Khadijah, who had been the first person to believe in Allah's Revelation through him. The Prophet (pbuh) knew that this would be the last time he would see the grave, or Mecca, because during the pilgrimage he had received the chapter of the Koran called 'Help',
form which he knew that his death was not far away.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"When Allah's help and triumph comes And thou seest, mankind entering the religion of Allah in troops, Then hymn the praises of thy Lord, and seek forgiveness of Him. Lo! He is ever ready to show mercy". (Koran cx.1-3)
The Prophet's Death
One Night, shortly after his return to Medinah, the Prophet(pbuh) woke up at midnight and asked his servant' Abd Allah to saddle his mule. They then left the house and went to the Baqi al-Gharqad, the burial ground of the Muslims. There the Prophet (pbuh) stood in the front of the graves and, as though he could see the Muslims buried in them, spoke to them and prayed over them. Later, 'Abd Allah reported, 'The Prophet (pbuh) told me that he was ordered to pray for the dead and that I was to go with him.'
After the Prophet (pbuh) had prayed he turned to 'Abd Allah and said, 'I can choose between all the riches of this world, a long life and then Paradise,
or meeting my Lord and entering Paradise now.' 'Abd Allah begged him to choose a long, rich life, followed by Paradise, but the Prophet (pbuh) told him that he had already chosen to meet his Lord now rather than remain in the world. The following morning the Prophet (pbuh) awoke with a terrible headache, but despite this he had led the prayers at the mosque. From what he said afterwards to the people assembled there, they understood that his death was near. The Prophet (pbuh) praised his best friend, Abu Bakr, who had begun to weep, and told everyone that he knew they would all meet again at a pool in Paradise. He added, however that although he was sure they would always worship Allah alone, he feared that the pleasures of the world would attract them, and they would begin to compete with one another for material possessions, forgetting spiritual things. Soon after the Prophet (pbuh) requested that he be moved to the room of A'isha, one of his wives. As the days passed his fever grew worse, until one day he was so ill that he could not even get to the mosque,
which was next to where A'isha lived. The Prophet (pbuh) told A'isha to tell the Muslims to let Abu Bakr, her father, lead the prayer, which made them very sad for this was the first time anyone had taken the Prophet's place.

Later, on the 12th day of Rabi al-Awal, in the 11th year of Islam (June 8th 632 A.D.), the Prophet (pbuh) heard the voices of the people in prayer. With great effort he got up and looked from his door at all the Muslims who were assembled in rows behind Abu bakr; he smiled with great satisfaction. Abu Bakr saw him and stepped back to give the Prophet (pbuh) his place. The Muslims were happy, thinking he was going to pray with them as before, but the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who looked radiantly beautiful that day signaled to them to continue on their own. He prayed in a sitting position at the right of Abu Bakr, after which he went back inside and lay his head on 'A'ishah's lap. He was in such pain that his daughter Fatimah cried out in pity.
Then the Prophet (pbuh) said, 'There is no pain for your father after this day; truly, death has appeared to me. We must all suffer it till the Day of Judgement.' As he lay there, A'ishah remembered that he had once said, Allah never takes a Prophet to Himself without giving him the choice.' Then she heard the Prophet (pbuh) speak. His last words were, 'Nay, rather the Exalted Communion of Paradise.'
A'ishah then said to herself, 'So, by Allah, he is not choosing us!' When the people in the mosque heard that the Prophet (pbuh) was dead, they were filled with grief. 'Umar could not, and would not, believe it, and exclaimed that it was not true. Abu Bakr then went out and spoke gently to the people, saying 'All praise belongs to Allah! 0 people, whoever worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad is dead. But for him who worships Allah, Allah is living and never dies.'
He then recited this verse from the Koran which had been revealed after the battle of Uhud:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful  
"Muhammad is but a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) have passed away before him. Will it be that, when he dies or is slain, you will turn back on your heels? He who turns back does no hurt to Allah, and Allah will reward the thankful. No soul can ever die except by Allah's permission and at a term appointed.
Who so desires the reward of the world, We bestow on him thereof; and whosoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We bestow on him thereof We shall reward the thankful". (Koran iii.144-145)
After this the people pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, whom the Prophet (pbuh) had chosen to lead the prayer. Abu Bakr accepted and concluded what he had to say with these words: 'Obey me so long as I obey Allah and His Messenger. But if I disobey Allah and His Messenger, you owe me no obedience. Arise for your prayer, Allah have mercy upon you!' The people rose and asked him; 'Where will the Prophet (pbuh) be buried?' Abu Bakr remembered that the Prophet (pbuh) had said, 'No Prophet dies who is not buried on the spot where he died.
' And so the Prophet (pbuh) was buried in a grave dug in the floor of A'ishah's room, in the house next to the mosque. The spot became known as the Haram al-Nabawi and Muslims from all over the world go there to pray and to give their blessings and greetings of peace the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). And Lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. And Lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. (Koran lxvii. 3-4)